Northern England at ‘breaking point’ for crisis loans

MORE people in the North of England are forced to take handouts than anywhere else in the country, new figures show.

Analysis carried out by the Sunday Post showed the North of England was at ‘breaking point’ with tens of thousands of people taking out crisis loans. The results of the survey showed that Burnley, Blackburn and Hyndburn featured in the top 25 of councils with the most crisis loans issued in 2012-2013.

Blackpool had the highest rate of crisis loans in England, with 390 per 100,000 head of population. Burnley was 9th on the list with 256, Blackburn with Darwen was 20th with 230 and Hyndburn was 25th with 218.

Until March last year, crisis loans were administered by Central Government but last year, councils were allocated shares of £178.2 million-a-year to run local schemes.

The Government has now announced that the money, which could provide help for a short-term crisis such as flooding, sudden loss of income or fleeing a violent partner, will be pulled from next year, leaving councils to foot the bill themselves.

The announcement has led to concerns as to how the struggling north will cope and how much pressure will be put on already-stretched councils.

Deputy Leader of Blackburn with Darwen council Andy Kay said: “There will be an impact on the council but the main concern is how this will impact on residents that may have needed to rely on these loans.

“As you can see from these figures, demand for crisis loans is still very high. The DwP still has a small amount allocated to help people but they don’t advertise that fact.

“It is a concern.”

New figures from the TUC have also revealed that workers in the north west of England have seen their wages drop by almost £2,000 between 2010 and 2013.

Comments (5)

"Deputy Leader of Blackburn with Darwen council Andy Kay said: “There will be an impact on the council but the main concern is how this will impact on residents"

Does anybody care? Are there enough people sufficiently concerned to actually do anything about this? Wringing of hands by the likes of Mr Kay simply isn't enough to have any effect. When push comes to vote, he and his ilk will simply acquiesce and make the cuts which further harm us all.

Anybody else think that the time has come to use our votes for people who will stand up for ordinary people? I know that I am sickened by the continuous stream of similar headlines in our 6th or 7th richest country in the world and will therefore be looking to use my vote as described asap

"Deputy Leader of Blackburn with Darwen council Andy Kay said: “There will be an impact on the council but the main concern is how this will impact on residents"
Does anybody care? Are there enough people sufficiently concerned to actually do anything about this? Wringing of hands by the likes of Mr Kay simply isn't enough to have any effect. When push comes to vote, he and his ilk will simply acquiesce and make the cuts which further harm us all.
Anybody else think that the time has come to use our votes for people who will stand up for ordinary people? I know that I am sickened by the continuous stream of similar headlines in our 6th or 7th richest country in the world and will therefore be looking to use my vote as described asapTimefor

It's a sad reflection on the way this country has gone down the pan.
Bankers and CEO's getting obscene bonuses. billions given away in foreign aid. foreigners taking British jobs, large corporations getting away with tax avoidance, the poor suffering, children going hungry, and the Tories seem to think it is all perfectly acceptable.

It's a sad reflection on the way this country has gone down the pan.
Bankers and CEO's getting obscene bonuses. billions given away in foreign aid. foreigners taking British jobs, large corporations getting away with tax avoidance, the poor suffering, children going hungry, and the Tories seem to think it is all perfectly acceptable.shytalk

shytalk wrote:
It's a sad reflection on the way this country has gone down the pan.
Bankers and CEO's getting obscene bonuses. billions given away in foreign aid. foreigners taking British jobs, large corporations getting away with tax avoidance, the poor suffering, children going hungry, and the Tories seem to think it is all perfectly acceptable.

The people of this country who don't vote have allowed this situation to arise. I have to say the Labour party shows no signs of defending the vulnerable like I would have expected them to.

[quote][p][bold]shytalk[/bold] wrote:
It's a sad reflection on the way this country has gone down the pan.
Bankers and CEO's getting obscene bonuses. billions given away in foreign aid. foreigners taking British jobs, large corporations getting away with tax avoidance, the poor suffering, children going hungry, and the Tories seem to think it is all perfectly acceptable.[/p][/quote]The people of this country who don't vote have allowed this situation to arise. I have to say the Labour party shows no signs of defending the vulnerable like I would have expected them to.mavrick

maverick, what strikes me is that a) the labour party have indeed given up any pretence of defending the vulnerable and b) it is far worse in that. They have openly committed to implementing the libcon's austerity agenda and ideological strategy. In short, they have given up any right to claims of representing ordinary people and, god forbid, should they be returned to government, what people will have voted for is no more than tory light at best. Is it any wonder fewer folk can even bother to vote when there is so little to choose from?

maverick, what strikes me is that a) the labour party have indeed given up any pretence of defending the vulnerable and b) it is far worse in that. They have openly committed to implementing the libcon's austerity agenda and ideological strategy. In short, they have given up any right to claims of representing ordinary people and, god forbid, should they be returned to government, what people will have voted for is no more than tory light at best. Is it any wonder fewer folk can even bother to vote when there is so little to choose from?Timefor